The present invention relates generally to the field of arm guards for use in archery, and, more particularly, to a multi-piece device for attachment to compound bows of various types. The new device is used to assist in accurate and consistent positioning of the archer's bow arm, and is adjustable in several directions for increased flexibility of use by archers of various sizes and body types.
It is well known that during use of an archery bow, and particularly bows of the compound variety, for hunting or target practice, that it is critical that the archer's bow arm be kept in an exact, preselected position. Failure to maintain the appropriate position during draw back of the bowstring, sighting and string release can result in a missed shot and/or severe scraping or "burning" of the archer's bow support arm by the recoiling strings. Thus, the new device provides a means by which the user can assure that the bow arm is correctly positioned for shooting by reference to the positional relationship between the arm supporting the bow and the new guard (or positioning device) connected thereto.
Previously, these problems have been addressed in a number of ways which have been only partially successful because the known devices could only be adjusted, if at all, in a very limited fashion. Of course, the most well known device for protecting an archer's arm is a simple piece of flexible material such as leather or plastic which can be strapped to the inside of the bow holding arm. These guards are not attached to the bow and do not serve to assist the archer in proper alignment of the arm in relation to the bow. They are merely physical barriers to prevent contact between the recoiling bowstring and the holding arm.
Some arm guards which are attachable to the bow can be shifted somewhat either vertically, laterally, or in and out (forward and back relative to the body position of the archer), but no known archery arm guard can be adjusted to the user's preference in all three of these directions, as well as being rotatable about a longitudinal axis for maximum adjustability as is the new arm guard as presently described and claimed.
It is to be understood that throughout the present application the use of the term "guard" is meant to encompass the function of being a position guide which serves to improve accuracy, as well as being a protective device in the "shield" sense of the word.
As an example, among the specific considerations concerning attachment of an archery arm guard to assist in correct arm placement is whether the archer is a "release shooter" or a "finger shooter". The latter pulling and releasing the bowstring with the bare fingers and the former using a known mechanical device commonly referred to as a "release". The metallic gripping parts of the mechanical release device require much less space for clearance around the bowstring than do the archer's fingers. So, as will be clear in view of the following description, in using the new arm positioner a release shooter may prefer to dispose the vertical bar thereof adjacent and parallel in relation to the bowstring, whereas a finger shooter necessarily needs more gripping space and may prefer to position the vertical bar slightly forwardly of the unstretched bowstring so that the bar does not interfere with finger gripping of the string. The fully adjustable aspects of the present guard permit such desirable variations in parts settings.
Examples of other factors to be considered in positioning the new guard as a guide for bow arm placement are the length, diameter and general shape of the archer's bow arm. These dimensions will necessarily affect arm position relative to the bow and bowstring, in order for the archer to avoid striking the arm with the string while maintaining proper grip and bow angle during aiming and shooting. The new guard is sufficiently adjustable to accommodate a wide range of body sizes and types, as archers include youths and women as well as adult men, and bow sizes will vary accordingly.
Also, bows vary significantly in style and shape of the arrow brace, which can vary in its position relative to the unstretched bowstring over a range of about five to about 11inches. Thus, sufficient adjustment is provided with the new arm guard structure to accommodate most known bows, including those recently available with built-in accessory mounting rods.
It is to be noted that such addition of other accessories, for example an arrow quiver, necessarily causes the bow to be off balance, placing increased strain on the user's hand, wrist and arm. Attachment of the new arm guard has the added advantage of helping to off-set the weight of such other accessories and helps to bring the entire bow back into balance, to make holding, aiming and shooting easier and thus more accurate.
None of the known archery arm guides or guards are constructed in such a manner as to provide for such extensive adaptability of use depending upon all the above-mentioned factors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,468, which issued to Crest, shows an arm guard for attachment to a long bow and which has a transverse bar extending outwardly to the side of the bow handle and which is secured to the bow generally below the bow handle via screws. A spacer bar extends from the transverse bar rearwardly toward the bowstring and is connected to a flat arm guard plate which extends generally upwardly and parallel to the bow string.
The vertically extending plate of the Crest arm guard is attached to the horizontally extending spacer as a single unitary piece of material which is curved and bent to an angle of about 90.degree. . Thus, the Crest device does not include attaching the vertical plate to the horizontal piece in such a manner as to enable adjustment of these parts in relation to one another as is possible with the various independent but adjustably connectable parts of the present arm guard.
Rather, Crest permits changes in lateral positioning only by changing the length of the cylinder 54 . It does not allow actual adjustability of a given piece. Furthermore, there is no separate adjustment for the rearwardly extending spacer bar or vertical bar in its rearward or forward position, separate from other parts of the device. There is no adjustment of the spacer cylinder 54 in only a rearward or forward direction, or in a vertical or horizontal direction because elements 40 and 42 of Crest cannot rotate.
U.S. Pat. No.5,137,008, which issued to Taylor, discloses an arm guard wherein a horizontal rearwardly extending bar is releasably mounted to the bow via an aperture generally provided below the handle of conventional compound and long bows. An arm guide plate is pivotally attached to a rearwardly extending bar so that it can be angled sideways relative to the archer's bow arm and the bowstring.
However, in the Taylor patent, there is not shown any use of a cable guard along with the arm guard on the same bow. As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 9 of Taylor the arm guard crosses the mid-line of the bow and thus would obstruct the use of a below-the-grip cable guard which is standard on today's bows. Lateral and vertical adjustment, if any, can only be made in the Taylor device by changing the mounting arm which then moves the entire device. There is no selective adjustment of different portions of the device independently from one another.
U.S. Pat. No.5,103,798, which issued to McGraw, discloses an arm guard provided without a vertical piece, but which merely includes a rearwardly extending rod to lie adjacent to the bow arm and which is longer than the user's forearm. McGraw uses a mounting block for attachment of the rearwardly extending rod to the bow, wherein the length of the rod may be adjusted to fit the archer. No lateral rotation is possible, nor is there provision made for vertical adjustment.
Also in McGraw, the cable guard and arm guard cannot be adjusted separately from one and other. Only slight forward and rearward adjustment is available on the McGraw device. No vertical or lateral adjustments are available at all. Moreover, McGraw does not accommodate an arm positioning device for use with a cable guard which is factory installed and of the type which will later be described herein.
None of the known archer's arm guards include the unique combination of interconnected adjustable rods and mounting cubes and blocks of the present invention, and specifically the use of two or more mounting blocks to enable independent adjustment of the position of the side rod in relation to the bow handle, adjustment of the position of the rearwardly extending rod and vertical adjustment of the rod extending parallel to the bowstring. All these features are desirable for optimum positioning for reliable, consistent, repeatedly accurate shooting.
Among features lacking in the known art but found in the new archery arm guard are independent adjustability in at least three planes of direction, noise damping features, adjustability to accommodate finger shooters versus release shooters or the degree (the extent) of adjustability presently offered. For example, the new arm guard uses a block or cube to mount a cylindrical vertical bar or rod to a rearward extension so that the vertical bar can be moved horizontally up to approximately five inches forward or rearwardly adjacent to the shooting string.
Accordingly, it is among the several advantages of the present invention to provide a device to aid in positioning the bow arm of an archer during aiming and shooting of an arrow with a bow, and particularly with a compound bow. The new arm guard device is intended to be independently adjustable in several directions in its position mounted to a bow in order to assure preferred placement of the archer's bow supporting arm, to thereby enhance accuracy of shooting, as well as to protect the arm from injury caused by the recoiling bow string and from stress on the elbow joint caused by unnecessary torque placed thereon.
It is further among the several advantages of the invention that the new arm "guard" or positioning device be easily mounted to any of a number of styles of compound bows using only one or two simple hand tools, and requiring little or no instruction. Moreover, since very little strength is required, mounting and adjustment of the new arm guard device can be readily accomplished by most persons, and certainly by anyone with sufficient upper body strength for shooting of a compound bow.
It is also among the advantages of the new device that it is inexpensive to manufacture and consists of only a few facile interconnecting parts which can be readily adapted for attachment to effectively any style of compound bow, and which is also useful as a convenient and comfortable handle for carrying the bow during transport, for example from a vehicle to a hunting site.
Thus, in furtherance of the above objects, the invention is, briefly, a device for attachment to an archery bow to facilitate placement of the bow arm of the archer, the device includes a plurality of pieces adapted for attachment to the bow and movably interconnected to one another in such manner as to be adjustable in at least three different directions, to an individual archer's preferred position on the bow, whereby the archer can optimally position the archer's bow-supporting arm relative to the device to enhance shooting performance and to prevent contact of the bowstring with the archer's bow-supporting arm.
The plurality of pieces of the invention further include, briefly, a straight rod and bent rod and a mounting block mounted horizontally on the first rod when the bow to which the device is attached is held in normal shooting position. The mounting block has a through-bore for receiving and retaining the straight rod, and a through-bore for receiving and retaining the bent rod substantially perpendicularly to the straight rod.
The straight rod of the invention has two opposed ends, one end extending forwardly and the other end extending rearwardly toward the archer, and further wherein the forwardly directed end is pivotally connected to the bow so as to be selectively adjustable in an arc extending upwardly and toward the archer's bow-supporting arm and downwardly, toward the bowstring to thereby permit the archer to position the second rod substantially vertically and at a distance spacedly in relation to the bowstring which provides a guide for accurate and consistent placement of the archer's bow-supporting arm.
The mounting block of the invention is, briefly, radially pivotally adjustably mounted upon the straight rod, so that as the straight rod is pivotally positioned on the bow, the resultant angular shift in the upright position of the bent rod can be compensated for by pivoting the mounting block on the straight rod, to thereby provide structure by which the bent rod can be maintained in a substantially vertical position, substantially parallel to the unstretched bowstring as a guide for accurate and consistent positioning of the archer's bow-supporting arm.
Other advantages will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinbelow.